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ROLEX PARIS MASTERS

October 30, 2018

Lucas Pouille

Paris, France

G. SIMON/L. Pouille

6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French, please.

Q. First of all, what is the analysis of the match according to you? Is it always hard to play against Gilles Simon or didn't you have your usual landmarks?
LUCAS POUILLE: I would say both. I think I served very badly today against Gilles Simon. He has a good return. So it would be better to have a better percentage. And then I always had problems playing against him. His game is always tough.

He played well. He was a good player over the last weeks. He's been improving very much. So that's it.

Q. The Davis Cup is coming up. Do you have news? Do you know how things will turn out?
LUCAS POUILLE: I have none. How it will turn out? Well, once he has announced the team players, we will know what to do. We will practice in Lille as we did last year. We will practice at La Ligue. But we don't know who will be appointed.

Q. Is it a problem not to know now and to know if you're a member of the team at such a late date?
LUCAS POUILLE: Well, I will not go practice tomorrow. So it won't change anything for the moment.

It's actually four weeks to go from now until then. So having a few days off, resting, then going back to training, this is something that is possible. This was the same thing last year. We'll see what Yannick says.

Q. What about your injury that you sustained this autumn? Is it over? Have you recovered?
LUCAS POUILLE: I'm good now.

Q. Are you worried or do you think that since there are three weeks of physical training it will be a difficult and different cycle or not?
LUCAS POUILLE: This is what I said at the beginning, before the beginning of the tournament. Well, I'm not that worried. I cannot say you're making a bad choice if they choose someone else, but I will be attending if they ask me to be there. I will give my utmost. And then it's the captain's choice. I'm not concerned. I have no choice anyway. I just have to wait and see what Yann will say.

Q. So it's not the end of the season that much but it's the end of the tour. So it's time for you to take stock of the situation. I guess you're not that much satisfied of your season. What could you say about the second part of the season that was quite complex?
LUCAS POUILLE: Well, it's not only the second half; it's all parts. Since March, it has been very hard. We worked quite well last winter. In January we worked well. I had good results. So I had good results in January, February. And then it was tougher. I had bad results and I was less and less confident and it was hard to get out of this vicious circle.

We haven't taken stock of the situation yet with Manu and the whole team. It will be time to do so in the days to come. But for sure I am far from being satisfied. I'm neither happy nor content.

We will see. We will talk about it and try to discuss how we can launch the next season, 2019, in the best way.

Q. Before you did not have a lot of stress because of your results, because you knew that you would be selected. Do you have a doubt now?
LUCAS POUILLE: I'm going to repeat what I just said two seconds ago: From March to September I didn't win a single match. So based on the matches that I had, I don't think -- I have nothing to say. It's up to Yannick now. It's a good thing to be selected but then you have to bring the point back home then afterwards. One has to play and win.

So it's not that I just want to be selected to say, Oh, I'm on the French team, you know? If I want to be on the team, it's to try and to play and win. Then if he calls me and says, You're coming up at the stadium with us, I will be there as I always have been. When I was wounded I was there nonetheless as well.

Q. Regarding the Davis Cup, there was a players' meeting, yesterday I think.
LUCAS POUILLE: Yesterday, yeah. I don't know what was said because when I arrived at the stadium this morning I had other things to think about than what was said for seven hours yesterday. We will see.

I know that it has been said that they were not in favor of playing it. Maybe they should have said it at some other time. Maybe a few months ago they should have said it. It's the way it goes. We'll see how things turn out next year. If Federer, Zverev, Djokovic, all the top players do not play, I don't think it will take place.

Q. So you won't play it?
LUCAS POUILLE: No, I won't play it.

Q. What will you do in the days to come?
LUCAS POUILLE: I'm not going to play tennis in any case.

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